up & down the coast in 14 days
march recap
housekeeping! hello, hello! thank you for reading claudeata—it means so much to me. i’ve been eating and thinking about food for as long as i can remember, and having a spot to put all those thoughts is very important to me. i’m thrilled that you care enough about it too to read about it once a month. if you aren’t subscribed, please do (and tell a friend to subscribe too)! throw me a like every now and then because we all seek validation from others...
up & down the coast in 14 days
At the start of the month I was in beautiful sunny Miami. Four friends and I headed south to escape the cold like old people do in the dead of winter. We packed a lot into four days—eating, drinking (duh), walking, site-seeing and the tail end of a midnight drag show just steps from the beach. I visited my friend Abby in Miami when I was a freshman, but as you can imagine, there’s a whole other side to the city once you can legally stay out past ten. One night the five of us ended up playing pool (at a Philly bar of all places) on Española Way. Around the corner was Mac’s Club Deuce—Anthony Bourdain’s favorite bar in Miami (or so we were told by a man out front when I oohed and ahed over its neon). The majority of the trip was spent walking around neighborhoods and lounging on the sand. When we stopped at a Cuban bakery in Little Havana, a cock fight ensued, and almost every tourist ran for cover (including me), while the locals got right in the middle of the two birds. We stopped at the Wynwood Walls and cooled off with lemonade at Panther Coffee. The best dinner by far was at American Social in Brickell; we took advantage of their happy hour and might have tried a drink from every page of their (very large) cocktail menu. Despite a flight cancellation and a sleepless day of more walking, it was truly one for the books! Highly recommend vacay.
And then two weeks later I was up at the tippy top of the country in Maine with Matt and Fitz. Stop number one of the roadtrip was Smalls in Portland (me: almond croissant, Matt: BEC, Fitz: bacon scraps). Stop number two was Allagash Brewing, followed by a stop at Maine Beer Company in Freeport—breweries abound in Maine. Our Airbnb was on an artists’ retreat an hour from Bar Harbor, so the first day included trekking up I-95. In Boothbay Harbor, Fitz got a lobster toy, and I finally bought The Lost Kitchen’s cookbook at Sherman’s; the bookseller there was so kind and urged me to return in the summer when the town truly booms. We braved the cold for pizza and blueberry wine at Fogtown Brewing in Ellsworth before making our way back to our cottage on the edge of the earth in Surrey. Breakfast the next morning included hot lattes and pillowy bacon/sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches from Stadium in Bar Harbor. I’d love to return when it’s sunny because it was even breathtaking covered in fog. Acadia and its surrounding woods were even more beautiful. Just look at these pictures of the dog.
We walked around Portland on our way back to Boston; my second souvenir was Maine Mud chocolate sauce from Rosemont Market, and I daydreamed about moving into my own Maine farmhouse/French chateau in Blanche + Mimi. The final stop of the roadtrip was Batson River Brewing & Distilling in Kennebunkport. Talk about quaint!!!!
Also paid a visit to my grandmother on her birthday this month! We shared some chocolate-covered strawberries before meeting the rest of my CT family out for pasta and a slice of cake the size of Grandma’s head!
staying in
In light of my recent travels, I aimed to keep the grocery lists simple this month (but somehow they’re still so pricey). One night we made sheet pan nachos, which is a meal I want to continue celebrating (tortilla chips are my favorite food). Then I made Matt a version of the dish I made in class when I manned the sauté station all by myself for the very first time in my life (very stressful, but I emerged unscathed)—chicken with peas and capery/olivey/tomatoey rice.
One of my classmates had us over for tacos one night, and I came bearing Claire Saffitz’s sugar cookies, which are nothing like you’re thinking of. Think: crispy, caramely, paper thin babies. They pleased the crowd.
I could write an entire essay about the kinds of breakfast sandwiches we make in this apartment, but I’ll just leave you with Matt’s favorite of the month: eggs, bacon and cheddar on a toasted bagel smothered in mystery compound butter (pine nuts, sage, roasted garlic, parsley) I snagged from class.
school
My final quarter of culinary school began once spring break ended. It’s been a good ride. This quarter I’m in an a la carte class half the week, prepping for service from 8-10:30 and serving dining room guests until noon. I spend the other days in a banquets and catering class. We make a lot of forcemeat—terrines, pâtés, sausages, hot dogs—and sushi and canapés. One hors d’oeuvre I was particularly proud of was a fried oyster on the half shell with lemon spinach and tartar sauce. WILL be recreating at home this summer.
& etc.
Made a batch of Wishbone Kitchen’s pesto and put it on ricotta potato pizza
Music worth mentioning this month: Ariana Grande’s new album, “Cardinal” by Kacey Musgraves and Christine & the Queens old album Chris (trying to get back into teaching myself French if anyone has any other recommendations on how to do this other than listening to music lol)
Tried making Blue Bottle’s New Orleans cold brew, but it just didn’t hit as hard as I’d hoped it would. It’s almost $10 in store, but I might treat myself anyway to see what all the hype is about.
I’m very interested in carrots—like can you make a vegetarian pâté or velvety carrot sauce for chicken? I saw a carrot cocktail on Instagram that would be so great for Easter brunch. Here’s attempt numero uno at carrot sauce.
